Welcome back to The Breakdown with me, NLW.

It's a daily podcast on macro, Bitcoin, and the big picture power shifts remaking our world.

What's going on, guys? It is Thursday, May 18th, and today somehow we are discussing the question

of the U.S. defaulting on its debt, and specifically what U.S.D.C. issuer circle has prepared to do

in that eventuality. Before we dive into that, a quick note. If you are enjoying the breakdown,

please go subscribe to it,

give it a rating, leave it a review. This is how people discover the show. It makes a big

difference, and I appreciate each and every one. You can also check out the breakdown network's

other shows, including Bitcoin Builders and the AI breakdown, which is obviously very

timely right now. When you're ready to come discuss all the

things that you are hearing about, join us on the Breakers Discord. You can find it at bit.ly slash

breakdown pod. Today, we are very much in the realm of where macro and the crypto industry intersect.

The story of USDA's reserves and circles's relationship with the U.S.

government has been one of the weirdest aspects of this cycle and frankly explains a lot about

it for people who are observing from the outside. Circle is, of course, the company that has been

arguably as or even more conscientious as any in the crypto space

when it comes to U.S. regulations and trying to play within the system. The obvious reason for that

is that they position themselves very early to be the anti-tether, right? To be the company that

was safe, compliant, and easy for the U.S. establishment to get behind.

Circle was betting that stablecoins were going to be a big part of the future financial

infrastructure, and they wanted to build the version that Tradfai and other big enterprise

actors and just citizens of the United States in general could interact with.

...